The term "electroerosion" is used herein to refer to a machining process in which electric energy is supplied across a machining gap formed between a tool electrode and a conductive workpiece and flushed with a machining fluid to remove material from the workpiece by the action of successive time-spaced electrical discharges effected across the gap (electrical discharge machining or EDM), the action of electrochemical or electrolytic solubilization (electrochemical machining or ECM) or a combination of these actions (electrochemical-discharge machining or ECDM). In EDM, the machining fluid is commonly a liquid which is basically electrically nonconductive or of dielectric nature and typically constituted by deionized water, a liquid hydrocarbon or a combination of such water and hydrocarbon. The electric energy is supplied commonly in the form of a succession of voltage pulses which result in a corresponding succession of pulsed, discrete electrical discharges across the machining gap. In ECM, the machining fluid is commonly a liquid electrolyte which is naturally conductive, and the machining current may be a direct current but is preferably in the form of pulses or pulsating current. In ECDM, the machining fluid is typically a liquid having both dielectric and electrolytic natures and may be tap water or water deionized to retain weak conductivity.
In traveling-wire (TW) electroerosion, the tool electrode is constituted by a continuous electrode element which is typically a conductive wire having a diameter ranging from 0.05 mm to 0.5 mm, but may take the form of a tape or ribbon of similar thickness. Such electrode is broadly and generally referred to herein as a wire or wire-like electrode. The wire electrode is axially transported continuously along a given continuous guide path from a supply to a takeup through a cutting zone in which a workpiece is disposed. The cutting zone is commonly defined by a pair of cutting guide members which support the traveling wire across the workpiece. Wire traction and braking means allow the continuous wire to be tightly stretched and kept taut between the supply and the takeup and to be axially driven between the cutting guide members while traversing the workpiece, thus presenting the continuously renewed electrode surface juxtaposed in an electroerosive cutting relationship with the workpiece across a narrow cutting gap. The cutting gap is flushed with a cutting liquid medium and electrically energized with a high-density electrical machining current which is passed between the wire electrode and the workpiece to electroerosively remove material from the latter.
The workpiece may be immersed in a bath of the cutting liquid medium which serves to flush the cutting zone. Conveniently, however, the cutting zone is typically disposed in the air or usual environment. One or two nozzles of the conventional design disposed at one or both sides of the workpiece have been utilized to deliver the cutting liquid medium to the cutting gap. The cutting liquid is conveniently water which is deionized or ionized to a varying extent to serve as a desired electroerosive cutting medium. It has been recognized that the roles of the cutting liquid medium in the electroerosive process are to carry the erosive machining current, to carry away the cutting chips and other gap products, and to cool the traveling, thin wire electrode and the workpiece.
To advance the electroerosive material removal in the workpiece, the latter is displaced relative to the wire electrode transversely to the axis thereof. This allows the traveling wire electrode to advance translationally in the workpiece and consequently a narrow cutting slot to be progressively formed behind the advancing wire electrode, the slot having a width slightly greater than the diameter of the wire electrode. The continuous relative displacement along a precision-programmed path results in the formation of a desired contour corresponding thereto and subtly defined by this cutting slot in the workpiece.
Higher cutting speed is an ever increasing demand in the process described. It is, of course, desirable that higher cutting speed be obtained without loss of cutting accuracy. The cutting speed, typically expressed in mm.sup.2 /min, is defined by the product of the workpiece thickness and the length of cut achieved per unit time along a given cutting course and hence is, for a given workpiece thickness, dependent upon the rate of translational advance of the wire electrode that can be increased. If the rate of advance happens to exceed an actual rate of material removal which not only preset cutting parameters that govern, inter alia, the cutting accuracy but variable prevailing cutting conditions allow, the fine wire breaks so that the cutting operation must be suspended. The goal of higher cutting speed is, therefore, dependent on how ideally optimum conditions in the cutting gap may be established and with stability maintained against instantaneous changes. Among other factors which govern these conditions, it will be noted that adequate flushing is of particular importance.
It is desirable that the cutting gap defined between the traveling, thin wire electrode and the workpiece be kept flushed with a sufficient volume of the cutting liquid and traversed thereby at a sufficient rate to allow the electroerosive action to continue with stability, the cutting chips and other gap products to be carried away promptly and the wire electrode subject to erosive heating to be cooled with effectiveness. Thus, the art has seen various improvements in the structure of fluid-delivery nozzles and the manner of supplying the liquid medium into the cutting zone. It has been observed, however, that they are no more than practical and far less than ideal. At best, some of them are only satisfactory to substantially increase the cutting speed when the workpiece is relatively thin. Greater the workpiece thickness, more difficult it is to maintain the same cutting speed as attainable for thinner workpieces.